Nice find. Suggestive timing. In the Eco-quest prospectus where...

Nice find. Suggestive timing.

In the Eco-quest prospectus where the license conditions are discussed (p71) there a section on Warranties and Indemnities.

"Cynata and any potential sub-licensee must further indemnify WARF, the University of Wisconsn-Madison and their various associated parties in relation to the death or injury or damage to property due to the sale, marketing, use or manufacture of products, licensed materials or any derivative materiels or developments pursuant to the License Agreement" .

Its surprising easy (without good procedures and practices) to get rogue DNA and contaminants like airborne - windblown - fungal spores (small enough to be invisible) off clothes or the face which not covered by a lab coat, glasses or a hair net or skin surfaces (wrists above gloves) into a cell culture. In a lab where the batches are small the occasional contamination is certainly not welcome or wanted it can ruin an experiment but it isn't going to get you sued into bankrupcy. The stakes are higher for clinical cells and the batches of cells almost certainly larger so it would be easier to contaminate - you'd need better and more expensive facilities to manage the risk.

Correlation isn't cause but I like seeing this news item today that relates to manufacturing. ;-)